Egg carton



, 1,509,610 A. RsTzER Sept. 23 1924.

EGG CARTON Filed Ilarch 23 1923 2 Sheets-Shut 1 Patented Sept. 23, 1924.

UNITED STATES ALBERT RETZER, OF ML-NAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

EGG CARTON.

Application filed March 23, 1923. Serial No. 627,029.

To LU 711710711, t may comer/n:

Be it known that I, Annnn'r Herman, a a citizen of the United States,and resident of l\/Iilwaukee, in the county of lViilwaukee and State oflVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCartons; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof.

This invention relates to improvements in egg cartons.

The carton comprises two substantially similar mating sections, eachhaving aper-y tured inner walls for the reception of the f eggs,longitudinal liaps and partitions adjacent the apertures for bracing theouter, inner and side walls of the carton.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a carton havingtwo substantially similar separable parts. llilhen the eggs are beingldelivered to the housewife, half of the carton may be left having theeggs therein and the other half may be returned to the store. rthis halfmay be used y again, so that an economy may bc effected in this way. Thehousewife may put the section containing the into an ice box, or a nicesuitable place, and thc eggs are retained in position for convenientremoval. W ith half of the carton gone, the container will occupy butlittle space. The provision of a section which will serve in this manneras a dish is important and each section of the carton is made of thesmallest amount of material that will permit usage of a carton in thismanner; that is, as a tray forL facilitating the removal of the eggs.The two sections together form a perfect carton and there are few foldlines. Smallness in the quantity of the material and the simplicity ofthe construction make possible the production of the novel carton at avery low oost.

An object of the invention is the protection of the eggs at both ends,whereby pos* sibility of breakage is eliminated. Longitudinal flaps areprovided and partitions brace the outer wall from the inner wall andalso the inner walls from each other. The carton may be laid on acounter without danger of crushing the shells, as the partitions andtlaps protect them( against force lengthwise of the eggs. Thefpartitionsoperate, also, to prevent contact of one with another and Serve in thisway to provent breakage.

An object of the invention is the provision of means for locking theflaps together, so as to impart rigidity and strength to each of thesections.

An object of the invention is the provision of a rubber band on eachcarton, securedA at one end thereof, This serves as a convenient meansfor securing twosections together', as they may be stretched about themand effectually prevent separation. The bands serve, also, as a shockabsorber. if a non-yielding retaining member, such as a string, wereused, there would be no yield, so that when the carton is subjected toshock, there would be danger of crushing the eggs. uWith the bands,however, a slight yielding of the rubber permits the taking up of shockand tends to eliminate danger of breakage.

lith the above and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the novel con struction,coinbimiftioi'i and arrangement ot parts substantially as hereinafterdescribed and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it beingunderstood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

1n the accompanying drawings is illustrated one complete example of thephysical embodimentl of the present invention constructed according tothe best mode so far devised for the practical application of theprinciples thereof.

Figure 1 is a transverse section through a carton.v

Figure 2 is a plan of the blank of a section, part being broken away,the line 1 1. indicating the plane on which Figure 1 is taken.

Figure 3 of a carton. y

Figures e and 5 are sections on the lines 4in-4c and 5'-5 respectivelyof Figure 3.

The upper section 1.0 comprises van outer wall 11, side walls 12 and 13,inner walls 11i and 15, and ilaps 16 and 17. 'lhese walls are continuousand formed `from a single blank, shown in Figure 2. The ends of the is alongitudinal sectional part blank form flaps 16 and 17, the edges ofwhich contact with the inner face of outer wall 11. The flaps are bentsharply with respect to the inner walls along lines 18 and 19 and theouter walls are directed sharply away from the inner walls along lines2O and 21. The corner 22 between side wall 12 and outer wall 11 isrounded, as is also corner 23 between outer wall 11 and side wall 13. Arow of partitions, 25,

26, 27 and 28 is cut in inner wall 14. The partitions are shapedsninlarly. Partition 25 terminates in a straight lower edge 2S and hascurved side edges 29 and 30. A series of tongues 31 is formed, and aredirected upwardly from inner wall 14. An end opening is provided in theinner wall at each of the partitions and the tongues border the openingand serve as a cushion for the egg, tending to prevent downward orksidewise movement thereof. The apertures conform to the shape ot theegg. As previously stated, the various parts ot each section are madefrom a single blank. Vhen the section is in flat, or blank form, thetongues and the partition adjacent thereto completely till the aperture,the tongues having edges contiguous to the edge 28 of the partition.Thus, there is no wastage of material in the making of the aperture. Aneconomy in production is, therefore, eifected. Partition 26 operates toprotect the egg which is deposited thereagainst from contact with thewhich is deposited against partition 25, and the latter partitionoperates to prevent escape ot' the egg from the end ot the carton. Anynumber of apertures may be provided in the inner wall 14, but preferablythey are six in number. Partitions 25, 26 and 27 are disposed in thesame direction from the lines at which they join the blank, as viewedvfrom Figure 2. Partition 2S, however, extends in an opposite direction.It results, therefore, that at each end of a row ot' apertures, apartition is provided, which prevents the escape of an egg from thecarton at the end and also braces the carton at this point. It is notnecessary, however, Vthat a partition be thus formed at the extreme endof the carton. lhen the two sections are assembled, as shown in VFigure1, a complete carton is formed.

As shown in Figure 1, partition 25 extends from the inner wall 14 to theouter wall 11 and braces the two walls apart. The egg is thus protectedagainst transverse stresses. The lower section 10', shown in Figure 1,is, asstated, a duplicate of section l0. Partition 25 therein operatesin precisely the same manner as partition 25. The inner portions ofpartitions 25 and 25 are immediately adjacent each other. The partitionsoperate, therefore, somewhat as a single unitary partition extendingfrom outer wall 11 to outer wall 11. They serve, furthermore, as a bracebetween the outer walls. The inner portions ot partitions 25 and 25 maybe spaced apart longitudinally of the carton, it' desired. They wouldstill brace walls 11, 11. Inner wall 15 is provided with a plurality ot'apertures, similar to inner wall 14, and has a row o1" )artitions 33,341, 35 and 3G, similar to partitions 25, 26, 27 and 28. Partition 2li-,as shown in Figure 1, operates as a brace between the inner and outerwalls.

The flaps and the partitions are operative, therefore, to protect theeggs against endwise stresses. It' the carton is laid on a counter,there is no danger ot cracking the eggs at their ends, since it would benecessary to move one of the outer walls towards the other, in order toexert pressure on the egg and movement ot these walls towards each otheris lnfeventcd by thel partitions and the flaps.

When are being delivered to a house` wife, one ot' the sections of thecarton may be removed. The eggs will then be carried in the othersection. The empty section may be returned to the store and may be againused with another section to torni another carton. Herctofore, when eggshave been delivered at aresidence, it has been. impractical to returnthe carton to the store. Thus, there was the loss of the value of anentire carton. With the return of half of the carton to the store, adecrease in the expense equal to one-half the cost of the carton occurs.Thus, an economy is eiTccted. The section containing the eggs may bedeposited by the housewife in any suitable place as, for instance, anice box. It occupies a minimum of room and holds the eggs in positionfor convenient and immediate usage. It thus serves as a tray and as atray, it is made of the smallest quantity of material that such anobject could be made ot and still be operative to maintain the eggsproperly in position for usage.

To the outer face of outer wall 11 ofi section 10, a rubber band 36 issecured by means of staple 37. When the two sections are positioned asshown in F ignre 1, the band is stretched about the carton and securesthe two parts together, preventing movement of one section away from theother. Sect-ion 10', as described, is of the same construction assection 10 and is, therefore, also provided with a rubber band. Thus, aband is provided at each end of the carton and both ends of the cartonare securely retained. The bands serve not only as a convenient securingmeans, but also as a shock absorber, as their thickness tends, in thefirst place, to space the outer walls of the cal'ton from the counter,or other object on which the carton may be positioned and, in the secondplace, the elasticity of the bands permits a slight spreading of parts.It a non-elastic member were wound about the carton, there would begreater danger of breakage, as rigidity of parts would result. Thisrigidity is lessened by the yielding character of the band.

Flap 1T is severed along lines 38 and 39 to form a narrow strip 10 whichextends from line 19 to the edge of the flap. This strip is insertedthrough a slot 4:1 cut in flap 1G adjacent `line 18. The strip 40 isthen bent downwardly and lies along the suritace of flap 1G. It operatesto prevent the flaps from moving upwardly and apart, and serves toimpart rigidity and strength to the section. It is operative both whenthe section is empty and when it is filled with eggs. The strip may belocated immediately adjacent to the opening at partition 85, in whichcase the egg cooperates with the strip to prevent lateral movementthereof and to ensure a more reliable lock. The strip need not, however,be located at this point, since if it is positioned immediately adjacentto a partition, the partition will cooperate to prevent lateralmovement. A second strip 42 is yformed in flap' 17 and is extended, asshown in Figure 5, through the aperture adjacent partition 26. The stripis then downwardly directed adjacent Hap 16. It locks the two flaps ofthe section together, both when the tray is empty and when it is filledwith eggs. When it is filled with eggs, the contact of an egg with thestrip promotes further the reliability of the locking action, as itprevents possibility oi removal of the strip. Either o1? the strips 41()or 42 may be used alone instead oi' both together, ii desired.

It is apparent that a carton has been provided of a special simplicityof construction, having few fold lines and a minimum number of parts.

I claim:

1. A carton open at both ends comprising an outer wall, a side wallcontinuous therewith, an inner wall continuous with said side wall andhaving apertures therein, a iap continuous with said inner` wall, asecond side wall continuous with said outer wall, a second inner wallcontinuous with said second side wall and having apertures therein, asecond :[iap on said second inner wall and means for locking said liapstogether.

2. A carton section comprising an outer wall, a side wall continuoustherewith, an inner wall having apertures there-in, a flap continuouswith said inner wall, a second side wall continuous with said outerwall, va second inner wall continuous with said second side wall andhaving apertures therein, a flap continuous with said second inner walland a strip formed in said second Hap and extended into an aperture insaid first mentioned inner wall and downwardly directed to lock saidflaps together.

3. A carton section comprising` an outer wall, a side wall continuoustherewith, an inne-r wall continuous with said .side wall and .havingapertures therein, a iiap continuous with said inner wall, a second sidewall continuous with said outer wall, a second inner wall continuouswith said second side wall and having apertures therein, a second flapcontinuous with said second inner wall and having a slot therein and astrip formed on said first mentioned flap extending through said slotand loc-king said fiaps together.

In testimony that I claim the 'foregoing I have hereunto set my hand atMilwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Visconsin.

ALBERT RETZER.

